


Hold Hands

by rantarous



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 00:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12829494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rantarous/pseuds/rantarous
Summary: "When we get out of here, I want you to come and watch one of my performances."





	Hold Hands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LiteralistSin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteralistSin/gifts).



“What?”

“I said I don't like the dark.” Kaede reiterated. The nails Rantarou flawlessly painted scratched across the mug and she deeply inhaled, blinking at the fog that effused from the cup of coffee they'd grabbed together after they’d bumped into each other on their way to the cafeteria. “Especially now that we’re in a killing game.” She divulged, aimlessly chewing at the insides of her cheeks.

Rantarou tapped on his cup while he carefully listened. He licked his bottom lip to catch the cream with his tongue. “A fear, huh?”

“Remember when I told you I have a twin sister?”

“Yeah.”

“And that I was named ‘Piano Idiot’ because I played the piano so, so much?”

“Yeah…” Rantarou dragged, carefully studying her mannerism.

The way she'd rocked back and forth on the chair and how she'd kept taking long, prolonged breaks after each one of his replies was oddly out of character. He decided to put an end to it before she crumbled down before him. “Akamatsu-san, you don't have to elaborate if you aren't comfortable discussing about it. No pressure.” He said with a wave of his hand but she insisted. Despite the effort on his part.

“That's not it. I — I want to tell you.”

He sharply inhaled and nodded his head, still deeply concerned.

She'd told him everything she'd managed to muster and recall; like how she'd been treated as a little child when she realised playing the piano was her biggest passion. Her parents didn't like the concept of their daughter spending her spare time playing an instrument instead of focusing on her studies, but left her be when they noticed it made her exhilarated. However, her twin sister was the one the most opposed to have her sister learn the piano, shooting her dark glares when the opportunity presented itself to show her distaste. On rare occasions, their parents delayed their return home for whatever reasons and her twin would thwack Kaede and shove her into the basement during that period of time — fatigued of hearing the same melody and string of music expand across the household, openly complaining she was incapable of concentrating and enjoying her favourite show on television.

Kaede would be stuck in the basement for a couple of hours afterwards, mute and curled into herself: enwreathed by the dark shadows and unable to visualise anything but the white dots that swirled in her eyes and the creaking sounds produced by her sister shuffling upstairs, probably preparing herself a few snacks to munch on for whatever show she was fixated on, which she failed to remember.

It'd scare her and she didn't like the idea of staying by herself in a tiny room, let alone in pitch blackness.

Kaede lifted her head after she'd finished telling her story to find Rantarou staring, lips uplifted and fist resting on his cheek.

“Eh? What is it?”

He shrugged, his smile unfading. “You didn't give up your passion despite everything and I admire that. You never cease to amaze me Akamatsu-san.”

~~\----------------------------------------------~~ ~~\------------------------------------------------~~

✮

_It will be okay. We will get out of there. Together. All of us._

At this point Kaede was starting to live on a mantra, incessantly repeating the same sentences after they'd all retreated back to their appointed rooms to catch on some rest — now solitary and in darkness, she was left to battle her own haunting thoughts. But who was she kidding other than herself? If she didn't tame her thoughts, she wouldn't fall asleep, so how could she possibly expect her brain to function to its best ability without a good night's sleep and find a plan to get everyone out of there without harm? With a dispirited sigh, she shifted to the edge of the bed and curled her legs to her chest, her fingers deeply digging into her skirt.

Her eyes turned to focus on her nails for the sake of not breaking and succumbing to her emotions and slowly inspected the carefully painted patterns he worked on. It'd been somewhat ruined, particularly around the index after she'd constantly scratched it on the surface of something without her awareness; otherwise, she would've tried her best to avoid that. Her heart clenched — she pondered if her mind would be more at ease if they'd come here.

A soft rapt on the door tore her away from admiring her nails and she yelped in surprise, her heart rate immediately skyrocketing. Put in a sudden dilemma; she wondered whether to near the door and ask who it was, to shout and demand who was behind the door (after all, their motives could've been to have her stand near the door and she would've had no idea) or to completely ignore them.

In the end, she decided on her first option but the person in question beat her to it by knocking a second time and vaguely peeked their head through the doorframe.

Much to her relief, it turned out to be Rantarou.

Kaede fell back onto her bed with a prolonged sigh and Rantarou reluctantly stepped into the room, flawlessly gliding across the carpet as if his feet floated above the ground, probably to minimise the sound and slowly shut the door behind him. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck after the silence hopelessly stretched. “Sorry for entering your room without your consent. You hadn't said anything after a few knocks so I worried. Did I by chance scare you?”

“Nope, I am fine.” Kaede shook her head, casually lying through her teeth like she'd always done — like she always used to when her twin demanded if she'd touch the piano and press on the keys. “It's alright! So, is something the matter?” She asked, curiously tilting her head to the side.

“I came here to check.”

“Huh?”

“Just checking in on you. That's all.” Rantaro replied, lifting his hands up before the amusement disappeared. His lips tightened into a straight, impassive line, and suddenly he was solemn. “Still haven't fallen asleep, huh?”

Kaede huffed. “Mmm. You too.”

He hummed, agreeing. “But hey, I have an idea.” Rantarou proposed with a shiny glint in his eyes. It piqued Kaede's curiosity a little more than before.

“What is it?”

He elevated himself from the desk he was leaning on and instead, positioned himself right beside her bed. “I'll stay here until you fall asleep, how does that sound?”

Kaede blinked, speechless. She’d hate to succumb to her fears, but the thought of having someone around instead of being alone reassured her. Rantarou kneeled down beside her bed and she looked on in confusion, her brows furrowed and knotted, face flustered.

“Don’t you think you’re too close?” She squeaked.

“What? Didn't you say you hated staying in the dark by yourself?” He raised his brows, perplexed. “I could always lea-”

“No!”

Rantarou stopped himself from standing, his lips tilted, perhaps satisfied with the reaction. Either that or he didn't expect it. To be honest, neither did she. “Also, you want me to hold your hand until you fall asleep, right?” He teased.

Kaede froze. “I don’t remember saying that? Did I...”

Rantarou chuckled and momentarily closed his eyes, shifting into a more comfortable position by folding his legs. “You're right, you haven't. You may have not said that directly but I can tell.” He reasoned.

“How so?” She challenged.

“Well— because it's written all over you.” He pointed a finger towards her hand to further prove his point. Her hand, did in fact, clench and unclench and were frighteningly close to brush the other hand resting on the edge of the bed. The impulse for contact increased suddenly but she'd managed to fight off the urge and curled her fingers around the covers, pulling it over her body to hide herself from view.

Rantarou chuckled when Kaede marginally extended her hand and wasted no time in reaching for it. He tightened the grip, running slow, smooth and reassuring circles around the surface of her pristine skin with his thumb.

Kaede discreetedly lowered her blanket to take a look at Rantarou, which in turned caused him to bite back a laugh. “When we get out of here...”

He hummed.

“I want you to come and watch one of my performances.”

“I would love to. It's been awhile since I've gotten the chance to watch one after all that travelling. That would be a nice change.” He agreed.

Kaede inhaled, using her vacant hand to pull the rest of the duvet over her head and listened to Rantarou humming to a tune she hadn’t recognised or heard before, but all in all, it sounded nice; peaceful, something that brought her nerves down, reminding her of the lullabies her mother sang to her when she was unable to snooze off and fall into a deep, tranquil sleep. But with Rantarou it was different.

She felt safe.

~~\----------------------------------------------~~ ~~\------------------------------------------------~~

✮

“Amami-kun... I am not quite sure about our plan anymore…”

“We can always retreat and think through our strategy again. We don't have to rush; remember, if the smallest thing goes wrong, our plan will be ruined.” He answered, the tone of his voice decreasing as he'd taken steps to the door of the library to check if there was anyone watching.

“But anything could happen during that time, I don't want to risk that.” Kaede reasoned. Her fingers pushed the shot put ball further and gave it another long, hard look before she descended the ladder.

Now — without a doubt — definitely wasn't the time to feel dubious about their plan after they’d finished setting up everything without fault, and put their time and effort to it to ensure it'd bring them their desired result, which was to expose the Mastermind. Rantarou eventually returned inside the library after she'd finished chastising herself. Unlike her, he looked unworried; casual, composed. Like he wasn't nervous about the outcome of their plan in the near future — like he knew this would reveal the Mastermind of the game.

For a second, she almost wished she was a bit more like him.

“The front is clear. Now is a good time to leave and join up with everyone before they suspect anything amiss.” Rantarou said and reached her side. “You've finished setting up your part haven't you?”

“Yeah.” Kaede responded, lifting her head to look at the spot where she'd shoved in the ball. “It's all done.”

She chewed on her bottom lip, the words absent-mindlessly departing from her mouth and eyes not leaving the ball for longer than deemed normal. It was for that reason she'd been taken by surprise when she was suddenly met by Rantarou's face, dangerously close to hers. His eyes flickered from her own, down to her lips then back up again, calculating and curious as to what was crossing her mind. He'd slightly bent over to reach her height, a hand resting on his hip and a few strands of green bangs brushing his eyes.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked again, uncertain. "What if our plan backfires and fails? Anything's possible." He warned her a second time, sending a sudden, cold sensation down her spine. She didn't miss the way the tone of his voice turned slightly colder.

“It's better than not trying at all.” She stood her ground. Rantarou chuckled and straightened up.

“Alright, alright.”

~~\----------------------------------------------~~ ~~\------------------------------------------------~~

✮

Blood.

Saihara Shuichi, one of the closest friends she’d made while forced into this anomalous killing game lay on the ground, in the centre of a pool of lavender. Motionless, his chest unmoving and head injured by the shot put ball she’d set up by her own hands.

Was he the mastermind?

Did it work? Was that it?

Kaede felt something heavy sit at the bottom of her stomach.

It couldn't be that simple.

. . . 

Could it?

~~\----------------------------------------------~~ ~~\------------------------------------------------~~

✮

The mood transformed, the ambiance of the room tensed even more than before, hanging over their heads.

Everything happened in the snap of a finger. Too quickly, to the point Rantarou was unable to process the situation himself — unable to comprehend the turn of events that had left him numb.

Rantarou's face blanched like he'd seen a ghost travel across the trial room. He furrowed his brows. With a strong grip, his hands held the edges of the lectern while Kaede was flashing a final, vibrant smile at everyone, eyes tightly shut as she fought the tears that were on the brink of overflowing and cascading down her flushed cheeks (she wanted to remain strong until the very end, for their sake) and asked them to work together and put an end to the game before anyone else ended up losing their lives.

She wasn’t, she didn’t— _she wasn’t the culprit._

Damn it. He'd miscalculated. And to think he knew what he was doing.

Kaede turned to Rantarou last. His eyes remainrd fixated on the lectern, staring at it with concentration as he thought and pondered on a way to pull her out of the execution. But on the silence stretched, and as a minute passed he couldn't afford to eschew the gaze burning a hole into his scalp — begging him to look her in the eye before she ran out of time and Monokuma dragged her to her death. After deeply inhaling, he momentarily disregarded the devouring guilt to lift his eyes; and clouded viridescent connected with lavender.

“Amami-kun, I am counting on you.”

“Bu—”

“Amami-kun.” She pressed.

He dejectedly sighed and nodded his head.

She tried a smile. “Good. You promise, right?”

Rantarou was about to reply before Monokuma curtly intervened, beginning to turn impatient and leaping up. “Alright, alright. That’s more than enough, I gave you plenty of time for the goodbyes. Let’s give it everything we’ve got! It’s punishment time!”

A door busted open and a chain crawled from it, instantly snapped around her neck and yanked her from her lectern, pulling her to a certain direction. Gasps and shrieks of horror filled the trial room. Debilitated, Rantarou didn't find it in himself to demand his body to function before everything had proceeded into his head. He took slow steps towards where Kaede'd been jerked towards before his walk turned into a sprint and then into a dead run. Kaito followed closely behind his steps, opposed to the execution just as he was. That included the rest of them, too.

The Monokuma Kubs joined the group soon enough and laughed, throwing in unnecessary comments there and then every couple of seconds, exclaiming of being quite thrilled about watching the first execution of the game, especially when it was Kaede Akamatsu's because she was the one that held into hope the most. It was subtle but Rantarou flinched when one of the Monokuma Kubs erupted into laughter and then another collapsed onto the floor in convulsions. He inhaled and exhaled just as slowly, successfully sliding his façade on. But in this situation, he found himself struggling to achieve what was a simple task for him.

The execution had started.

He couldn’t watch it. He looked at the ground instead.

✮

~~\----------------------------------------------~~ ~~\------------------------------------------------~~

There was a sign of life.

He wasn’t hallucinating. He was  _ so  _ very sure he was not hallucinating. The barrier which separated him from the execution room split open and he took some steps forward. He tightly clenched his jaw, frustrated and annoyed with the way she continued to suffer, the tiny bits of life desperately clinging onto every side of her possible, just about to evaporate. It was a matter of time until they were overpowered and let go.

He slowly neared Kaede who was on the ground, her eyelids half open; and Rantarou kneeled beside her, powerless. Kaede managed to look him in the eye with the little force still preserved inside of her and a lavender liquid streamed down her lip, splashing onto the ground.

He parted his lips but had to close them again when no sound had come out, took a deep breath and reattempted. “I promise. Don’t worry, I will definitely find the Mastermind and end the game.” He forced a smile, thick eyelashes fluttering against cheeks as he fought tears of his own.

He couldn’t right now. He couldn’t show Kaede this side of him at the moment. The last thing he would want is have her worry about him in her last moments.

After hearing that, her eyes that had been devoid of any kind of emotion glistened just the slightest bit in relief. “Can I… ask for one more thing?” She continued.

“Yeah?” He tenderly asked.

“Can you— can you hold my hand for the last time?” She stopped and took a sharp breath. “This is the... this is the last time I am falling asleep.”

He nodded his head, struggling to force the words out of his lips. Eventually he found his voice. “Of course.” He responded, the knot in his throat only intensifying. He grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together. He sat there and waited for what felt like a decade — but in reality, only mere minutes had passed.

“The performance...”

“The performance?”

“I will play it for you when we meet again, won't I? Too bad... we have to postpone it. But — But I'll practice even more and make it sound more heavenly.”

Rantarou blinked in surprise. Suddenly, it had gotten harder to fight back the tears pooling his eye sockets. "Yeah.”

She smiled and closed her eyes.

After a little while, her weak grip had loosened until it had entirely disappeared.

Rantarou sighed and gently placed her hand down, planting one last kiss to her forehead. “Good night,” he whispered. He stood up eventually, dusting his clothes off before he dared look at her one more time; despite his heart, broken and stamped over well a thousand of times — Like she was his world.

Except, it was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Imagining writing this when you've an exam the next day///
> 
> Anyway, this is kind of different from the canon version so I hope that's okay! I hope you enjoyed writing it. Kudos and comments are highly, highly appreciated.
> 
> And Keirachii, I hope you really liked this too!


End file.
